Inflammatory disorders

How the health of your gut microbiome can affect your skin

The skin is the largest organ of the human body. Not only does it act as the first line of defense against external stressors such as environmental toxins, pathogens and pollutants, our skin can also reveal much about our ...

Pediatrics

Causes of stomach pain in kids

Many kids can get an occasional upset tummy, but what if your child's stomachaches are more persistent?

Health

Celiac disease: New findings on the effects of gluten

Today is International Celiac Day. Celiac disease is a chronic autoimmune condition that occurs in around 1% of the world's population. It is triggered by the consumption of gluten proteins from wheat, barley, rye and some ...

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Coeliac disease ( /ˈsiːli.æk/; spelled celiac disease in North America and often celiac sprue) is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine that occurs in genetically predisposed people of all ages from middle infancy onward. Symptoms include chronic diarrhoea, failure to thrive (in children), and fatigue, but these may be absent, and symptoms in other organ systems have been described.

A growing portion of diagnoses are being made in asymptomatic persons as a result of increased screening; the condition is thought to affect between 1 in 1,750 and 1 in 105 people in the United States. Coeliac disease is caused by a reaction to gliadin, a prolamin (gluten protein) found in wheat, and similar proteins found in the crops of the tribe Triticeae (which includes other common grains such as barley and rye). Upon exposure to gliadin, and specifically to three peptides found in prolamins, the enzyme tissue transglutaminase modifies the protein, and the immune system cross-reacts with the small-bowel tissue, causing an inflammatory reaction. That leads to a truncating of the villi lining the small intestine (called villous atrophy). This interferes with the absorption of nutrients, because the intestinal villi are responsible for absorption. The only known effective treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet. While the disease is caused by a reaction to wheat proteins, it is not the same as wheat allergy.

This condition has several other names, including: cœliac disease (with œ ligature), c(o)eliac sprue, non-tropical sprue, endemic sprue, gluten enteropathy or gluten-sensitive enteropathy, and gluten intolerance. The term coeliac derives from the Greek κοιλιακός (koiliakós, "abdominal"), and was introduced in the 19th century in a translation of what is generally regarded as an ancient Greek description of the disease by Aretaeus of Cappadocia.

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